Tag Archives: UN

FAO Voluntary Guidelines finalised

(Rome, 09/03/2012) The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has completed the intergovernmental negotiations of the UN FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Tenure of Land Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security.

With the successful completion of these negotiations, after a participatory process lasting nearly 3 years, the CFS has shown clearly that it has the capacity to bring a wide variety of social actors to the debate and to seek solutions to one of the most difficult and delicate issues we face today … that of access to natural resources for food production/provision. More than 45 persons representing 20 civil society organisations attended the final round of these negotiations.

The Guidelines contain valuable points that will provide backing for organisations in their long struggle to ensure the care and use of Resources and Natural Goods in order to produce more nourishing food, so helping to eliminate hunger from the world by addressing its root causes.

Progress for Food Sovereignty

Ensuring access to land, fisheries and forests is absolutely vital, not just to enable small food producers to nourish the world. Access to natural resources is a question of dignity and a matter of life and death for millions of peasant communities, pastoralists, indigenous Peoples and fisher folk. In many parts of the world, land-grabbing causes great suffering by displacing people and communities and destroying and confiscating their lands, further increasing the incidence of violent conflicts.

Just in the last few months, while this document was being negotiated, leaders of social movements in different parts of the world have been persecuted or assassinated for involvements in this very struggle. In Latin America, we wish to remember Jerónimo R. Tugri & Mauricio Méndez of Panamá, Bernardo Méndez Vásquez of México, Christian Ferreyra of Argentina, and the Esteban peasants who were assassinated in the land conflicts in Bajo Aguán, Honduras.

We also want to show our solidarity with Herman Kumara, leader of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples, who has been threatened with death and forced to leave his country, Sri Lanka.